The House of Representatives on Thursday mandated its joint Committees on Public Accounts and Public Procurement to investigate alleged systemic abuse of office and asset stripping within the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion jointly sponsored by Ibe Osonwa (LP, Abia), Mark Esset (PDP, Akwa Ibom), and Jafaru Leko (APC, Bauchi).
Leading debate on the motion, Osonwa expressed concern over recent allegations suggesting that the police had violated the Public Procurement Act by splitting a N6 billion contract into 66 separate contracts, reportedly awarded to Crown Natures Nigeria Limited, in a bid to circumvent procurement regulations—specifically in the procurement of police uniforms.
He further raised alarm over the sale of police barracks, including Garki Barracks in Abuja, Falomo Barracks in Lagos, and Bompai Barracks in Kano, to private individuals allegedly linked to Exima Realty Company Limited. According to the lawmaker, these transactions occurred without due process or requisite approvals from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Ministry of Police Affairs, or the Federal Executive Council (FEC), in total disregard for the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
Osonwa added that several contracts under the 2024 budget, amounting to tens of billions of naira, have allegedly been awarded by the Police Force without adherence to statutory procurement processes, including FEC approval, Ministerial Tenders Board vetting, or Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) “no-objection” certification.
Companies reportedly involved in these violations include Dexterity Development Ltd., KC Construction Ltd., Contract Technologies Ltd., and Strong Tower Infrastructure Development Ltd., among others.
Credit: newtelegraphng.com
The post Reps Probe Police Over Sale Of Barracks, N6b Contract Splitting appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.
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